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Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) by jp (Apr 27th, 2026 at 22:04:52) |
I got to that point where I hit a monster/boss that just wasn't that much fun, and then I got a bit lost in terms of where to continue making progress, and the backtracking started to get a bit tiresome...as I explored and searched for different paths. So, time to bail!
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Legacy of Ys Books I & II (DS) by jp (Apr 27th, 2026 at 22:03:27) |
Can you believe that I capped out on character level? I hit level 24, with plenty of game to go (I checked a guide, though I had reached the last 20% or so) and that's it. No more levels. It was a bit of a disappointment to be honest, and I also started to tire of having to backtrack all over the place to talk to different characters and so on. It was fun, and surprising to me in many ways, it's an action RPG with real-time combat, but no real challenge or interest in the combat - limited items and gear, no significant shopping or upgrading...there's boss fights (which are much harder than the regular game), but there wasn't much there to continue to keep my interest. So, I've decided to bail.
I did also spend some time on the Wikipedia page and it looks like the game has been re-released a million times across different formats, and rebundled with new content, and stuff touched up and more. I'm kind of surprised because I wasn't all that impressed to be fair. As in, the game was fun and I enjoyed it for a bit, but I'm not entirely sure that it merits THAT much attention in the re-releases? Maybe I'm missing something and this game really resonated strongly with lots of people?
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Legacy of Ys Books I & II (DS) by jp (Apr 26th, 2026 at 10:06:39) |
I need to look up more info on this. I had assumed it was a bundle of the two first Ys games, but upon starting the first one (Book I), the 3D graphics make it seem like it's a newer game? So I'm really curious what the backstory here is...
It started out pretty frustrating - because I wandered into a field outside of town and died immediately. I had to start over which was a drag - lots of text to skip past, and died again! Sigh. I eventually figured out how to save your game, which helped. So, I decided to then book it, dodge enemies and made it to a city! Here I bought a sword and some armor...and figured I wouldn't die again immediately but I did! It turns out I hadn't figured out how to equip the items and that solved EVERYTHING.
I've been playing since, and the game's quite interesting in its camera perspective - it's a very unusual sort of 3D isometric view, but it's not at an angle, but rather it's sort of straight? (like vertical/top to bottom). It's a weird perspective because there's lots that gets occluded (if you walk down towards a wall, the wall blocks you from seeing what's close to it when you come from the top part of the scree). I mean, it makes sense spatially, but it's a weird perspective in a game - you also cannot rotate the camera AFAIK.
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Pokémon TCG Pocket (iPd) by jp (Apr 26th, 2026 at 09:59:12) |
I'm still "playing" - I stopped going for the competitive ladder mostly because I was playing the same deck all the time, didn't have the cards for a new competitive deck and...well, it's gotten a bit boring.
That being said, the collecting part is still fun and there's a new set coming out so we'll see how excited I get. I've been opening packs from older sets hoping to finish sets from which I'm still missing a bunch of cards. No real luck so far. Sigh.
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Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS) by jp (Apr 26th, 2026 at 09:51:07) |
I've since played some 15 runs or so, I seem to get farther than ever on every other one or so. There's some cool and interesting things here, but also the randomness of the rogue aspects both works and doesn't. I've decided to stop playing mostly because it's getting a bit tiresome when you have to go over the same things such that it starts to feel like busywork. For example, talking to the guy at the bar in the first area always nets you a rice ball (yay!), but it's a bit of a drag to have to go through all the conversation and such over, and over again.
Perhaps the feature I've come to appreciate the most is a shack that has different "puzzle" levels for you to solve - you're supposed to do them one at a time (smart design choice, because you get a reward from each) and each time you do one you get reset to level 1 with no items, you also lose any progress you may have made (including items) inside each puzzle. But, you get a reward when you complete them successfully. The puzzle levels are smart because they act as a tutorial of sorts, but because you only really want to do them one at a time, it's a slow burn tutorial that shows you the diversity of items and what they can do. I've done 12 or so...with more than half left to go. Some might require using a certain staff, or require you move around diagonally. Stuff like that. So, I've had to use items I hadn't considered before (I tend to be a cheapskate when it comes to items, use only in emergencies!) and now I know how they work without having to "waste" them while adventuring.
Once unlocked, companions might appear in later areas - and join your team! I made some progress with a 2nd one (I wonder if you can have more than one?) and I think it's neat how they operate semi-independently. They'll sometimes run off chasing a monster. I haven't quite grasped how their health works because they'll sometimes disappear (dead?) and I lose them for the rest of the adventure which is a bit of a shame.
In all, it's been fun to explore and playthrough. Runs are longer than I'd like and how that I unlocked the special jar that lets you combine items...I REALLY get the feeling that the game wants you to meta-strategize to cheese. In other words, play lots of runs to boost items to then combine them, and do this over and over again until you feel confident you can go. Which is interesting, and risky.
Finally, at this point I'm also missing out on a neat feature wherein other players can "rescue" you if/when you die. But it's a connectivity thing - other people need to play and you can help each other out that way. At this point, since the game is way old, it's like there's zero change of that working for me... which makes me a bit sad, right? I mean, playing this with some friends would be really neat in that context.
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GameLog hopes to be a site where gamers such as yourself keep track of the games that
they are currently playing. A GameLog is basically a record of a game you started playing. If it's open,
you still consider yourself to be playing the game. If it's closed, you finished playing the game. (it doesn't matter
if you got bored, frustrated,etc.) You can also attach short comments to each of your games or even maintain a diary (with more detailed entries)
for that game. Call it a weblog of game playing activity if you will.
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2323 registered gamers and 3356 games. 7893 GameLogs with 13386 journal entries. 5126 games are currently being played.
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Gears 5 (PC) by dkirschner |
| A more detailed Gears world with some additional combat options. -------------- Beautiful game, but not as charming or tight as Gears 4. Worth a play! |
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most recent entry: Thursday 28 May, 2020
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Aside from the luscious visuals and superbly detailed environments (that hid its many collectibles), Gears 5 didn't wow me as much as Gears of War 4. The game is less cohesive overall both in narrative and pacing. Half the game is about Kait and the COG's secrets, and the other half is about assembling the Hammer of Dawn to...to...destroy a hive? I was never quite sure until the end and I don't think the characters were either. The AI is worse and it had more technical issues. There is a "choice" at the end that has no impact on the game's outcome and probably required a few extra lines of dialogue, though I wonder which choice will be canon. The main new enemy type is a swarm (appropriate) of leeches that flies through the air. These are very easy to deal with though. You also get some new Juvies that sprout explosives and are fun to blow up. There are some new mega bosses, which were all spectacles to fight. I particularly liked the Matriarch fight (and the whole secret laboratory chapters). There weren't any new weapons of note, just some variations on lancers, and I was sad there were no giant mechs to control this time around. Thankfully, The Coalition did away with the glorified Horde mode in the campaign. Those were the only parts of Gears of War 4 I didn't like, and I must not have been alone.
There are two main things that Gears 5 adds that made it feel unique in the series (but not at all to the genre): the skiff and Jack. The skiff is the means by which you traverse the new open-ish world environments in the ice and desert levels. The ice parts are stunning with huge looming crags in the distance and shining icicles always threatening to drop on your head. The desert, unfortunately, is basically a re-skin of the ice levels that makes Sera look like Mars. But the skiff! It's kind of like parasailing and waterskiing. You use the sails to catch the wind and skim along the ground's surface. Ride it around to explore and find and complete secondary missions (a series first?). You'll help Outsiders secure their water source, investigate downed Condors, and through the few secondary missions you'll find items that upgrade Jack...
...Jack is a cute drone that is, well, a jack-of-all-trades. He's with you the whole game and has a handful of useful active and passive abilities that you can deploy. Often, you have to use one to get past an environmental hazard (Stim) or power a generator (Shock). The more "components" you find, the more you can level up his abilities. By the end of the game, Jack can give you invisibility, shield you, freeze enemies, mind control enemies, set traps, and more. He's fun to use and nice to have around. Your crew isn't nearly as chatty or funny as in Gears of War 4, so Jack's beeps and blips helped make up for some of the missing charm.
I left unexplored the myriad options for online play, customization, account leveling, and microtransactions. One could play these newer Gears of War games for ages and never unlock everything. Campaign and done! It sets up for a Gears 6, so I'm sure we'll see that roll out right on schedule. In another couple years, I'm sure it'll be as enjoyable as these games always are.
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